Sleeping At Last
by Sonnie333
Summary: Neville becomes minister after the war, but a weary and unsure mind is easily controlled. A oneshot from his wifes point of view on how she feels about his reign of terror..


**Sleeping at last**

**Authors Notes**

**This is my first ever fanfiction, I've never written before and I'm nervous about posting now but hey ho! Anyways, read, hopefully enjoy and please please review, I really appreciate criticisms and tips and good reviews of course! GAH!**

**Enjoy!**

**Thanks to my beta RandomReggie, you got me into fanfiction and you've created a monster xD**

**Disclaimer  
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**All of the characters and story belong to J.K, I just own the ideas!**

10 YEARS AGO

The war was over.

With Voldemort gone and his followers either in Azkaban or hiding in remote corners of the earth, the muggle and magic worlds breathed sighs of relief; Voldemort's reign of terror was over.

Since the assassination of Rufus Scrimgeour, the ministry had undergone a rebuilding process from the base up which required a temporary minister, Kingsley Shacklebolt turned down the offer to continue as an auror, after that an election chose an unlikely candidate – Neville Longbottom.

So with Neville Longbottom as Minister and Voldemort's reign over everything seemed to be turning around, unfortunately unseen to most few death eaters that had held ranks in the ministry during the time it was infiltrated still remained; with no master they began to plot their own take over the magic world through their minister. Who easier to influence than Neville Longbottom.

How right they turned out to be.

Neville was nervous and cautious about making the wrong choices, constantly backtracking and floundering when situations called for on the spot decisions; 'luckily' his 'advisors' always seemed to be able to make that right decision and he began to rely on them too much for matters that shouldn't have been, especially in the hands of death eaters with agenda's entirely different to his own.

The war left many orphaned, along with the re-building and rejuvenation of the magical world, Neville wanted to make them a priority; with good intentions he asked his advisors to set about creating Orphanages that where spacious, bright, and warm and could be a home for the children until they could be accounted for. Trusting it would be done he moved onto other issues, leaving the death eaters to create barbaric and atrocious prison like orphanages in which children were crammed into rooms, fed little and many children died daily from lack of nutrition and care. They where over looked, orphans after all are not missed.

As the next two years passed, the ideas that Neville was pushed towards that albeit at first seemed ridiculous to him started to make sense, they were easy and didn't take much time so he could achieve 'more'.

By the third year multiple laws had been passed to restrict muggle born wizards and witches, almost stripped of their rights and downgraded to second rate citizens with curfews and magical separation in living and learning conditions running wild.

By the fourth year squibs where no longer permitted to live in the magical world. Those who could ran, those who couldn't where sent to similar institutions to that of the orphanages, where their rights where stripped and their lives meant little to those that 'cared' for them. All family's who did not hand in their non-magical relatives were put to trial and later sent to Azkaban for treason and intent.

Two months after the Magical Action Against Squibs Act was passed, Neville's wife Hannah Abbot gave birth to a beautiful baby girl; though over joyed Neville never saw them both much.

Three years later their daughter was found to be non-magical, despite Hannah's pleas and rage Neville placed his own daughter into a despicable Squib institution, he began to resent Hannah for not blessing him with a magical daughter, their relationship began to crumble.

PRESENT DAY

Hannah POV

It's been nine years since the war was over.

Five years since my daughter was born.

Two years since she was taken away from me.

At 4 am one morning I received an owl from the Ministry of Magic telling me that my husband had been hit by a 'stay curse' ad was in critical condition in St. Mungo's.

The panic and worry I expected to rush forward never came, I was prepared for this. Someone would attempt to stop my husband from driving the magical world into a third dark age.

I arrived at the door to his private room. I took a breath.

I stepped through the doors and my heart twisted with pain. Neville, not the Minister of Magic, or the black souled man that had tore so many family's apart but Neville Longbottom. The man I loved, was laying in the bed, free from his tight suit and formal dress, gone was the furrowed brow and stiff set jaw.

My eyes filled with tears as I felt a impulsive need to protect him. From what I didn't know, the spell? The mind-washing? Himself?

I sat on the chair next to him, gently stroking his face for what could have been hours or minutes, time seemed so irrelevant when the man I loved and despised at the same time was lying in such a state in front of me.

As I looked at the creases on his forehead from years of frowning I wondered. Searching for the pinnacle, the moment where it all went wrong. When did he cross the line? When did I lose Neville?

It wasn't long before my mouth began to say what I was thinking, letting free years of suppressed questions and pleads.

"Minister, or can I call you Neville? I barely know you anymore… best stick to formalities. Minister, let's talk. Let's pretend we're just two people. A husband and a wife say? Or just a man and a woman; and you're no better than me. I'd like to ask you some questions, so answer me truthfully… this could be your only chance. Are you proud? Becoming Minister of Magic is quite the achievement but that's not what I mean. I mean are you proud of what you have become? Are you proud of your decisions? Of what you've done?

What do you see when you walk the streets? Do you feel anything when you see the homeless people? Those are the people who were promised homes rebuilt after the war. I used to pray for you sometimes, when you began to lose your way. I pray for those people now. Who do you pray for? Do you pray at all?

What would your parents say? When was the last time you visited them? Do you think they'd be proud of what've you done and what you've become?

In the beginning you would say "no child gets left behind". Now they're all sitting in your prisons, abandoned and alone. What kind of father would take his own daughter's rights away? Your daughter Minister, your own flesh and blood! Lock her in a cell and pretend she never existed. I can only imagine what your wife would have to say… What happened to the sweet man who wanted to teach herbology and make children interested in all that grew? Who believed in equal rights and despised prejudice with every fibre of his being? But you have power and that's what's important to you now.

I had no chance to say goodbye to my husband.

My husband Neville would have hated you Minister. You're everything that he loathed. He would have been intimidated by your power and you're twisted mind but he would have fought against you none the less. I lost my husband a long time ago. How can you sleep at night when so many cry? I bet you can't. How many sleepless nights have you had? How can you look at yourself in the mirror and not see what you've become?

Could you even look me in the eye, and tell me why?

My husband was strong, loyal and compassionate.

You Minister; you're weak, manipulated and destructive.

You're just a puppet whether you can see it or not."

The tears had been flowing freely down my cheeks and I wiped them away with the back of my hand. I took a breath, knowing I had far more to say but would never have the chance to say it, with a shaky hand I traced the finger where our wedding band used to be and placed a kiss on his forehead and walked out the door, I didn't look back.

Later that night, a nurse owled me.

She told me that Neville has passed away but before he had he regained consciousness briefly, asking the nurse to remove the chain from around his neck which had our wedding band on and place it on his hand. She also said he whispered

'Sorry'

Before slipping back into unconsciousness, before his heart finally gave out. He was sleeping at last.

**Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed!**

**Read and Review-THANKS :D**

**- Sonnie**

**Peace **


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